“Let me spell it out for you. You and your friend over there”—he nodded toward Nick—“set off our EMF device the minute you walked in.”
“Hmmm.” Anthony tipped his head and tried to look confused. “I’m sorry. I think your machine that goes ‘ping’ must be broken.”
The guy snorted.
Anthony rejoined Claudia in the office, and as soon as he’d shut the door, he leaned against it.
“What’s wrong? You look like…well, like you’re nervous. I’ve never seen you nervous before. Ever. What did he say?”
Anthony held up one finger. How the hell am I going to explain this? I need to talk to Nick, but not while Claudia’s in here. On the other hand, how can I let her go out there, knowing the “researchers” might tell her something that will scare the daylights out of her? Shit. I knew I’d have to tell her someday, but they’ve just forced my hand.
“Claudia, honey. There’s something I need to tell you, but this isn’t the place. Maybe we can close early tonight.”
“Close early? But Sadie has a client scheduled. Not to mention it’s bad for business—”
“I don’t give a shit about the business!” Anthony paced and raked his fingers through his hair. At last he took a deep breath and dropped into one of the chairs. If only we hadn’t given up the extra office space for the kitchen. I’d still have the couch and maybe I could get her naked on it. At least it would keep her from leaving the office.
Claudia didn’t look ready to leave the office, though. She sat in the chair next to him and laid a hand on his arm. “What’s wrong, babe? Whatever it is, I’m here for you.”
Yeah, but would you stay here if I told you I was a vampire? He wished he could revel in the fact that she’d just used an endearment for the first time. Instead he was so pissed off and worried that he had to put his mental energy toward damage control.
She angled her body toward him, reached out, and took both of his hands in hers. The gesture nearly did him in. She wasn’t the least bit afraid of him. Not yet, but he couldn’t kid himself anymore. The beautiful little bubble he’d been living in was about to burst.
“Claudia. I—”
The door opened and the weasel poked his head in. “Uh, Claudia. We should speak.”
“Get out, Maynard,” she said.
Wow. That’s not how Claudia would have acted toward a customer in the past. Even a troublesome ex. Brava, darling.
Maynard’s jaw dropped. When she glared at him, he retreated but left the door ajar. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”
“I don’t need you—for anything. Please, leave.”
Anthony rose and shut the door. For good measure, he turned the lock. When it clicked into place, Claudia looked even more concerned, if that were possible.
“What’s going on, Anthony? I want to hear it from you.” She rose and strolled over to him. Her arms slipped around his waist, and she held him while searching his face for answers.
If only I could mesmerize her…
He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. Inhaling her minty shampoo, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time.
A loud knock sounded on the door again.
“Oh, for the love of…” Claudia marched over to it. “This crap is not good for my serenity.” She closed her eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths before unlocking and opening the door.
“If you don’t leave me al—Oh! Hi, Nick.”
Nick tipped his head in confusion. “Bad timing?”
“Sorry. I was being pestered, but not by you. What’s up?”
“Three of your customers just walked out without paying. Angie wanted to run after them, but I stopped her.”
“Good,” Anthony said.
Angie’s voice from behind the door said, “Can you put me down now?”
Claudia swung the door open wide, revealing the six-foot-three ex-cop holding the diminutive waitress under his arm like a football.
Claudia covered her mouth as she tried not to chuckle.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nick said and set Angie on her feet.
Angie set a hand on her hip and addressed both of her bosses. “Are you just going to let customers leave without paying? Because word will get around that we’re serving free food.”
“I doubt it,” Claudia said. She faced Nick and continued, “Maynard is an old boyfriend of mine, and when he kept bothering me, I practically tossed him out on his ass.”
“Oh.” Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Did you say, ‘Maynard’?”
“Yes. May-nerd. Emphasis on the ‘nerd.’ Why?”
“What’s his last name?”
“Wisenheimer. Oh, wait. That’s just what we called him. It’s really Oppenheimer.”
“Shit. That’s the guy I’m looking for!” Nick took off and almost mowed Sadie down as she was coming in. He mumbled, “Sorry, Sadie,” and charged out the door.
Angie’s eyes were wide. “That’s the guy who kidnapped Tory?”
“Anthony, why on earth would a Cambridge researcher kidnap an ex-NFL player?”
Anthony shrugged. Should I make up something stupid like he might be studying the effects of steroids on head injuries? In the end, he opted for silence.
“Maybe the nerd wanted a muscle transplant.” Angie shook her head. “I can’t believe I waited on him…and was nice to him despite what an ass—Oh sorry, Claudia. I didn’t mean to call your old boyfriend an ass.”
“Don’t worry. He deserves it.”
“I hope Nick tracks down the ass, then. If he’s got Tory…” Angie’s lips thinned and her eyes shimmered.
Claudia grabbed and hugged her. “Nick will find him. Don’t worry.”
Anthony wanted to get Claudia out of there before there was any more speculation. He also didn’t know how much Claudia had heard regarding their scientific equipment. If Maynard called her later… Shit. I have to tell her.
“Claudia, you’ve had a rough day. Why don’t you go upstairs and I’ll take over here. Don’t go anywhere, though. I need to talk to you.”
“But I was going to…” She glanced at Angie who was still standing there, listening intently. “Never mind. I can cancel. Come up as soon as you can.”
Ordinarily Claudia would have refused to leave in the middle of a situation, but she was emotionally spent. AA taught her not to get too hungry, angry, upset, or tired. They called it HALT. Wait a minute…what she’d spelled was HAUT. Okay…so it was hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. Either way, it seemed appropriate to go to her apartment and take a load off.
She was supposed to meet her sponsor later and go to a meeting with her, but Anthony said he needed to talk. Considering his earlier reaction, she felt she needed to be there for him.
She could say she wasn’t feeling well but she was a terrible liar, so she decided to sell it by holding her nose as she spoke to her sponsor on the phone.
“Gaye. I’b sick. I can’ go out todight.”
“Oh, no. I’m sorry to hear that. You seemed fine yesterday.”
“Yeah, it cabe on sudd’nly.”
“Would you like a visit? We could have our own meeting in your living room.”
“Uh’d no. I’b contagious an jus’ wanna go to bed.”
“Okay…”
Somehow Gaye didn’t sound convinced, and Claudia got the impression that her sponsor suspected there was more to it.